Currently, many businesses or other agencies maintain service centers or other operations that are dedicated to receiving input from customers or other people. Such centers may receive feedback, opinions or other information or data from customers in one or more formats. For example, a customer may call a service center on the telephone and speak to an agent or representative in order to express his or her concerns. Alternatively, a customer may provide information or data regarding his or her concerns by electronic mail, e.g., through an E-mail client operating on his or her computer device or one or more text boxes or other input interfaces provided in an online format, or through any other form of electronic messaging. When a customer communicates with a service center regarding one or more issues, the customer's communication may be commonly referred to as a “contact.”
From time to time, and for various reasons, a customer who contacts a service center regarding an issue may be prompted to contact the service center again at a later time. The subsequent contact may relate to the original issue, or to another issue that subsequently arises. The portion of customers who make return contacts, or repeat contacts, to a service center following an original contact, is substantial. Frequently, depending on the size and scope of the service center, or of the business or organization with which the service center is associated, a return contact or a repeat contact is not routed or assigned to a service center agent or representative with whom the original contact was made. Instead, such return contacts or repeat contacts may be assigned at random to any of the agents or representatives who may be available at the service center at the time of the return contacts or the repeat contacts.
Where a customer's issue is assigned from a first agent or representative to a second agent or representative, however, the second agent or representative typically must elevate his or her level of knowledge in a brief period of time, in order to properly address the customer's issue. Additionally, where a customer reports one issue to a first representative, and subsequently reports another issue to a second representative, the second representative is not likely aware of the customer's background, concerns or personal experiences as the first representative. Because a new agent or representative must get himself or herself up to speed on an issue in short order, the likelihood that the customer will be required to make further contact with the service center regarding the same issue, or different issues, frequently remains unnecessarily high, and has an adverse impact on customer experiences and satisfaction.